Belle of the Ball
by D.I. Potter
Summary: Draco is irritated because he must attend the Yule ball... But then something, or someone, catches his eye and makes it all worthwhile... Fluffy fic  not the three headed dog!


**AN:** _Just a little bit of fluff, I hope you like it :)_  
**Disc.** _I do not own any of the characters (no matter how much I would like to)  
_

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'Stupid, poxy robes', thought Draco to himself as he hitched his collar higher round his neck, 'at least I look good in them though'. Draco Malfoy was loitering around the full length mirror in the boys' dormitory, fixing his dress robes before the ball. He brushed at the non-existent dust on his robes, feeling the soft velvet beneath his finger tips, smoothing out the surface of the robes. He glanced up at his reflection once again and admired the stark contrast between the jet black robes next to his pale completion and white blonde hair.  
Deciding that he was as immaculate as can be, Draco turned around to see Crabbe and Goyle standing gormlessly watching him.  
'Well', Draco began impatiently, 'are you two going to stand there all night or are you coming to the ball'. He swept out of the dorm and walked briskly along the corridor towards the common room. As he walked his shiny, new, black shoes _clacked_across the cold hard floor, these foot steps were quickly joined by two rather heavier pairs of feet, as Crabbe and Goyle ambled along behind him.

Pansy Parkinson was waiting for him when he reached the common room, his face quickly alighting with a look of contempt as he saw that she was wearing dress robes of shocking pink… with frills. Rolling his eyes at her girlishness, Draco sauntered over to her.  
'Wow Draco, black really suits you' said Pansy as Draco approached her, 'you look really… dark'  
Mumbling something in response, Draco then gestured towards the exit to the common room, Pansy gleefully grabbed hold of Draco's outstretched arm and the pair of them left together arm in arm.

'A ball, what a horrible invention' thought Draco, 'it's just an opportunity for us to look ridiculous in dress robes'. Draco, Pansy and a hoard of other slytherins slinked up the staircase and emerged in the entrance hall.  
Draco's eyes quickly darted round the entrance hall, surveying his fellow pupils with his signature sneer. His eyes came to rest on Potter and Weasley, as Weasley's robes looked, as all Weasley's clothing does, half–hacked and shabby. With a satisfied smirk Draco edged further into the Entrance Hall, when the large oak doors burst open and the Durmstrang students entered with Professor _Karkaroff_. Draco was about to barge past them, when he suddenly spotted a girl in pale blue robes walking with them. His mouth was left slightly ajar as the girl past, radiating beauty from every pore of her skin, her hair sleek and silky. Dazed and confused, Draco racked his brains to see if he remembered her from somewhere before. Surely if she attended Hogwarts he would know who she is? Still gawping after her, Pansy steered Draco into the Great Hall.

'Maybe she attends Durmstrang', thought Draco, 'it'd make sense as she did enter with them'. Clumsily Draco tripped over the hem of his robe losing concentration, as he focused more and more on the girl from the Entrance Hall. He flopped down into a chair next to Pansy and scoured the Hall to see if he could find that girl again. He looked around with eagle eyes but could see neither hide nor hair of her, when he looked around again he saw Potter sat at the top table.  
'Oh that's right, of course _Potter_ gets a seat with the judges' said Draco in a drawl dripping with sarcasm.  
'Yeah because he's a cham-pi-on' spelt out Pansy, rolling her eyes at him.  
Draco narrowed his eyes back at her; the view from their table was rather poor as they had been some of the last students to enter the hall, which left Draco with a view of many heads of students and a view of the famous Harry Potter. 'Great', thought Draco scowling as he tried to ignore Pansy, as she tried to talk to him.

Draco picked up the menu in front of him, ordering the first thing on the list, all the while searching for the girl. Frustrated, Draco picked up his fork, stabbing it into the food in front of him. It should be him with the most beautiful girl in the castle, not stuck beside possessive, Pansy Parkinson, who at this very moment was once again trying to attract Draco's attention. Why didn't she get the hint that he just wasn't interested in her?

After an antagonisingly long and boring meal there was a band, The Weird Sisters, where one was expected to dance with their date. Pansy looked as if she had just about had enough of his distant and sulky behaviour, so yanked him from his chair and dragged him onto the dance floor. And then he saw her. Dancing, not far away from where he and Pansy were, was the beautiful girl, dancing with Viktor Krum.  
'So what if he is an international Quidditch player, I am far more attractive' thought Draco as he looked at Krum's sallow skin and curved nose, compared to his own creamy complexion and pointed features. He swirled Pansy round the dance floor edging ever nearer to Krum and the beautiful girl with each movement. He couldn't see her face full on as each time he spun round he would catch her face in profile, or the back of her head. Draco was almost there, so close that pretty soon he could reach out and touch her, if he dared, maybe ask her for the next dance, when the band finished their song there was a surge of people off the dance floor towards the drinks… and once again Draco had lost her.

Silently cursing himself for not moving quicker Draco sloped off, leaving Pansy on the dance floor alone and sat back down with Crabbe and Goyle, who hadn't moved from the table all night.  
'Crabbe, Goyle go fetch me some punch' ordered Draco, waving his hand at them, leaving him on his own at the table. Draco looked around to see Krum standing by the drinks table alone, 'that means that she is no longer with him', thought Draco furtively glancing around the hall, hoping she would appear before him at any moment. A dash of blue fabric suddenly caught Draco's eye as he saw the identical shade of blue, as the beautiful girl's robes, disappear out of the Hall. Draco rushed to his feet and sprinted after her, getting to the Entrance Hall just in time to see her disappear off into the grounds. He moved swiftly out into the cold night air and followed her to a bench deep in the rose gardens.

Draco loitered by the near by fountain, not wishing to disturb her, head down and tilted off to one side, looking pensive. Leaning against the fountain he called out to her, 'you look absolutely beautiful tonight'. To give him a distraction from just simply staring at her, Draco dipped his hand into the water, playfully rippling the surface with his finger tips.

'I've seen you dance, you are the one person here tonight that looks radiant, you glow' said Draco, as he glanced up to see how she was taking this outburst of uncharacteristic -_well she doesn't need to know that it's uncharacteristic_- lavish of words and compliments, to see that whilst she didn't look unhappy, or angry about it, she did seem to be a little… Confused.  
Draco pushed off from the side of the fountain and sauntered over to where she was sat, as if they had all the time in the world.  
'You see, you and I are rather similar'  
'What makes you say that?' asked the girl, who now Draco heard her speak, he knew that he recognised her voice from somewhere before.  
'Simple, you and I were, by far, the most attractive people in there tonight and so it is crystal clear that you and I should be together'  
The girl then let out a small laugh as she put her head in her hands, 'modest aren't you?'  
'Well' replied Draco, sitting down beside her, breathing in her sent of musk and floral blossom, which he recognised in just the same way he had recognised her voice, 'why be modest and skirt around the facts when I can just tell you the truth now and not have to settle for anything less than perfection'

The girl looked up and turned to face him for the first time, when it struck Draco that this girl was no Durmstrang or Beauxbatons student, but a Hogwarts student whom he knew very well. What a difference a make over can do, her long, brown hair no longer bushy, her teeth greatly reduced in size, even her skin looked dazzling.  
But at that moment it didn't matter to either of them that they knew exactly who was looking back at them, there was absolutely no hiding their feelings from one another, as they drew together and locked lips into a passionate kiss.  
After several minutes they pulled apart and Draco gazed into her beautiful chocolate eyes.  
'You know this doesn't mean I like you?' she said looking at Draco thoughtfully.

'You don't need to like me, let's just keep this our little secret; Ok Granger?'


End file.
